O Death
by SuspianFeels
Summary: "My name is death and the end is here." Death is a teenage girl. [POST BREAKING DAWN}
1. Full Summary

**Name:** O Death

 **Summary:** ❝My name is death and the end is here.❞

Heidi Warrington is hiding a deadly secret, one that has been a curse since the day she was born. One single touch is enough to kill someone or place them into a coma with their chances of waking up is next to nothing. Due to this, Heidi's deeply religious parents forced her to wear gloves at all times to protect everyone (including themselves) from Heidi's power, claiming Heidi had some horrible skin condition to hide their secret.

But after the accidental death of her older sister by her powers, Heidi's parents quickly throw her out of the house; claiming her to be the devil and refuses to have her back until the unholy powers have been taken away or Heidi is dead. This leads the now homeless Heidi across the country to La Push, Washington, her last hope to try to find some kind of help to rid herself of the curse or perhaps meet someone who would help her handle it without hurting anyone but meets Paul Lahote instead and everything doesn't just fall apart; Heidi's power seems to ignite and the true horror of her curse comes to life and takes over Heidi's mind and heart, changing her almost immediately.

But once the evil had been released inside Heidi's body, it doesn't show any signs of leaving her and it seems the only person who can stop her is the one person she cannot harm; Paul.

 **Pairing:** Paul/OC

 **Rating:** T – for mild bad language, mild violence, dark themes, some blood and gore, mentions of death and suicide and moderate sex references – RATING MAY GO UP.

 **Genre:** Romance/Drama

 **Disclaimer:** I own nothing used, except for the idea for this story and my OCs. This story is purely for entertainment purposes only.

 **Story song:** O Death by Jen Titus

 **Author's note:** First attempt at a Paul fanfiction and I have no idea when I'll update this since I have a billion other fanfics I should be writing but whatever; I hope you all enjoy!

Alycia Debnam-Carey _**as**_ Heidi Warrington.

But without babbling on too long, on with the story.

* * *

O Death; Jen Titus

I'm Gonna Show You Crazy; Bebe Rexha

Losing My Religion; Agnic

Sinful Nature; Bear In Heaven

Dernière danse; Indila

If Love Was a Crime; Poli Genova

Haunting; Halsey

Me, Myself & I; G-Eazy x Bebe Rexha

Hymn For The Missing; Red

Gravel to Tempo; Hayley Kiyoko

Make a Shadow; Meg Myers

Stripped; Shiny Toy Guns

Mercy; Hurt

I Started a Joke; ConfidentialMX feat. Becky Hanson

Stressed Out; twenty one pilots

Monster; Imagine Dragons

Cynics vs Dreamers; Zella Day

Wolf; First Aid Kit

The Brothel (LidoLido Remix); Susanne Sundfør

Vampire Smile; Kyla La Grange

The Stupid, the Proud; IAMX

No Angels; Bastille Feat. Ella Eyre

All The Things Lost; MS MR

* * *

"The silence of the city

is my lullaby,

the masked redeemer

answering to children's cries.

I walk on Demon soil

burning with angel snow,

futile...

street of swine...

beautiful...

endless wine,

no treatment or antidote,

graveyard sin.

The brave walk thin,

men become beasts

when the lights get dim.

You become King,

I become your closest

friend and I fight

for whats right

until the very end.

Spiral black,

divine motion

underwater labyrinth,

these lambs will suffer indeed

by my own hand

drown in greed.

Thrill, chaotic exposure,

feathers of iron,

toxin will spread

like empty wishbone

ticking inside my head.

Can curb this... Nerve

pride raw, long path

Hood of a million Devils

Coming at me, I slay in halves

What have I.. Done.

Poison remains, numb thy core

carve and gut like a grey symphony

veins run blue, red forevermore.

Guilty crown, velvet throne

conscience? never heard

flesh and bone.

The lion crosses the dragon

in an inferno painted

red, and the day

dies black.

Haunted ravine, mutated sky

vortex tyrant, tribal scream

forsaken...

tune?"

~ Decrepit Heroism by unknown.


	2. Chapter One

Rain pounded on Heidi's bedroom window, making it almost impossible to see the street below her or even the house from across the street. Heidi usually spent her time like that, observing the world around her through her bedroom window while she listened to one of her parent's gospel CD's on her portable CD player. Not that there was really anything interesting going on in her hometown of Pepin, a small town in Wisconsin whose only leading light was writer Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Even as a child, Heidi was a loner but that was mostly due to her parents being so deeply religious, it tended to drive people away. And it was hard to have friendships with people when you have to keep lying to them about why Heidi had to wear gloves at all times – doesn't matter if there was a heatwave or a hurricane, she always had to wear them. This was due to a secret that only her family knew about; Heidi had an ability to kill with a single touch of her hand on someone and to protect everyone from her power, Heidi's parents forced her to wear gloves.

But even that didn't stop death from happening, because on a warm sunny day several days beforehand; Heidi and her older sister Mia went to the beach for the day. Due to the warm weather, Heidi removed her gloves and placed them in a small bucket of water to cool them down before she would place her gloves back on after they had dried. But before they had a chance to dry, Mia asked her sister to come in the water with her but Heidi reminded her that her hands had not dried and therefore she couldn't wear her gloves to stop anyone from getting hurt. Mia sighed but reluctantly went into the water without her sister, deciding to not let her little sister ruin her fun. She came back a few minutes later with a bucket of water and poured it over her sister's head, causing Heidi to playfully hit her sister's leg with her hand, completely forgetting that she didn't have her gloves on.

Mia collapsed and died almost immediately, causing Heidi to stare at her shaking hands before she grabbed her gloves and sprint home – screaming to her parents about how she accidently killed her older sister. Her parents were never the same after that, at least towards Heidi. They became cold and distant, barely speaking to her sometimes and when they did speak – they didn't say much, perhaps one or two words at a time and that would be it. But nothing prepared her for what would come next.

A small knock on Heidi's bedroom door caused the brunette to remove her headphones and pause her music. "Come in," she announced, placing her CD player on the seat beside her as the door opened to reveal her father. Heidi and her father always had a close relationship; they would tell each other everything and keep them a secret but after what happened to Mia, their relationship became strained.

The pair didn't speak for a while as Heidi's father sat on her bed, his daughter closely following after him. After an almost painful silence, he finally spoke up. "Your mother wants you out of the house."

"Is that what you want?" Heidi whispered as tears stung her eyes but she never let them fall.

"No, sweetheart, of course not. The only time I wanted you to leave this house was when you wanted to go to college."

Things between them fell silent as Heidi forced back her tears. "Tell mom I'll be out first thing tomorrow, I just want one more night here; or at least until the rain stops."

Heidi's father nodded his head once before pressing a gentle kiss to his daughter's forehead, leaving her alone with her thoughts of knowing that her own mother was practically disowning her over something Heidi couldn't even control.

Later that night, Heidi didn't cry while she was quietly packing up her belongings, knowing that it might wake her parents up. She didn't pack many clothes – only another pair of t-shirts and jeans and clothes that would keep her warm from the rain. She instead packed around $300 from her money bank she kept under her bed, several photographs of friends and family and her portable CD player with a small CD holder that contained most of her parent's gospel music but also had other kinds of music Heidi had bought in secret.

She gave a silent goodbye to her parents and her sister before she silently walked out of the house, leaving her keys inside and walked into the unknown. But by the time Heidi's father came up to give her a treat of breakfast in bed for the last time, the bed was cold and empty and Heidi was long gone.

The first place Heidi went was the library since she knew it would be open; having a small town's library run by an insomniac does have its perks, the library would be open until midnight and would open at six in the morning.

As soon as Heidi arrived, she walked straight towards the culture section – looking for books on folklore and curses from various cultures, somehow hoping that she would be able to find out the curse she had been living with since the day she was born.

She picked up at least seven books and placed them down on an empty desk with a computer on it and began researching. She looked in every culture, in every corner of the world to find someone or something that related to what she had.

 _ **~#~**_

Heidi hadn't realized she'd fallen asleep until she felt someone's pencil poke her side repeatedly, causing her to groan and sit upright in her chair. The rain had stopped and it seemed to be morning, although how Heidi was allowed to stay in the library all night seemed to be a mystery to her.

"I'm not here to kick you out, if you're thinking that. It's just your computer timed out and since you look like you're studying, I'll sign you back in if you'd like – or y'know, you can just sleep for the rest of the time," a bored sounding teenager told her, looking like she'd just been to a funeral and had all happiness and drive sucked out of her in the process. Her black glasses covered most of her face and what wasn't covered by her glasses, was covered by her dark red hair that Heidi was almost certain she had dyed due to its rather unnatural colouring to it.

Heidi stretched her limbs out before answering, giving herself time to properly wake up. "If it's not too much trouble, thank you. What time is it, if you don't mind me asking?"

The girl smiled in Heidi's direction before logging into the computer on the desk and looking at her watch. "It's eight-thirty; it looks like Margret left everything unlocked last night and didn't check before she went to bed, just a usual night." The girl was talking to herself by now, Heidi fully knowing that whatever she was saying didn't apply to her.

After the computer was logged in again, Heidi looked towards the books she had taken and found them completely useless, all but one; a book about Quileute legends. Inside, was the legend of the Sabnuhn; a demon connected to Death itself and once it finds a soul to inhabit, it takes over them to become a human manifestation of Death and death will always come to any and all who came into contact with them.

Moving onto the computer, she typed in where she would be able to find the Quileute tribe in order to ask for their help for getting rid of her curse. Washington State came up within seconds, causing Heidi to gulp as she realized how far away it was from home – it would take her almost a month if she was walking and since she had no form of transport of her own; it looked like she would have to walk.

Writing down the address and the information she had seen, Heidi mentally prepared herself for the long trip she had ahead of her. She packed up her things and logged out of the computer before placing all the books back into their correct places.

She gave a slight smile towards the teenager on the way out of the library, stepping into the sunlight and began her long walk to Washington State, never once looking back at the town she used to call home.

* * *

 _ **Note**_

Paul will be in the next chapter, I promise! I just wanted to give a little backstory to Heidi before we go straight into the love story between her and Paul. Wolf by First Aid Kit is their song – you should all listen to it because it sums them up perfectly.

Until next time;

Lorna.


	3. Chapter Two

Instead of walking to Washington State, Heidi walked to the nearest town and caught a bus from city to city until she hit a bump in the road in Wallace, Idaho. Her usual buses would arrive in one city and Heidi would have a few minutes before her next bus arrives to take her to her next destination but for a change, she would have to wait until the next afternoon for her bus to arrive and take her to Seattle and then she'd take another bus to Olympia and take yet another bus to Forks then eventually find her way to La Push from there, she hadn't fully planned out how she would get from Forks to La Push but she was sure that she'd think of something when she arrived.

Heidi had checked herself into a cheap motel and finally changed out of the same clothes she'd worn for almost a week straight and have a well needed shower and a good night's sleep. She turned on the TV to a random channel to end the silence as she removed her clothes and walked into the bathroom.

After her shower, Heidi lay on the mat covering her bed and stared up at the white ceiling above her, allowing herself to finally relax and think about what her parents would be doing at that moment – would they be looking for her? Or had they forgotten her already? Heidi didn't like to think of those things, they would just end up making herself upset and nobody would be there to console her.

Sitting up on her bed, Heidi's eyes glanced towards her shoes; knowing she'd need another pair due to wearing them for so long, standing in puddles and walking in them for an extended number of time but she knew that she didn't have enough money to spend. Out of the $300 she had at the beginning of her journey, she only had around $50 left and that needed to last her until she arrived in La Push so she was stuck with her broken shoes until further notice.

After eating a small packet of cookies she had bought at a bus station in Montana, Heidi finally turned off her TV and closed her blinds to sleep peacefully for the first time in a week. She dreamed of the calm blue sea and the warm blue skies, she dreamed of the summertime and how beautiful it always was in Wisconsin. There was no pain, no sadness in her dream world; just the earth beneath her feet and the endless skies above her, and everything was peaceful for the first time in what seemed like forever.

Heidi's alarm woke her up almost an hour before her bus was scheduled to arrive, just to make sure that she was ready for when it did come. After her shower; Heidi got dressed into a simple t-shirt with a plaid shirt over the top, a pair of denim shorts with tights underneath before slipping her feet into her boots. She looked around the room one last time before gathering her belongings and walked down to reception to hand back her key and give them thanks for letting her stay at such short notice.

Stepping into the sunlight, Heidi instantly regretted not bringing sunglasses with her as she used her hand to shield the sun from her face while she walked through the busy town towards the bus station.

Admittedly, Heidi rather liked the busy streets of the towns and cities she went through on her journey. They made her feel invisible instead of being stared at while she was in her hometown; she knew that she would miss the big cities once she returned home – _**if**_ she did return home, that is. She could completely lose herself in the chaos of the busy streets, and she loved the feeling of nobody staring at her – she was just a girl in a town, walking down the street and that was all she was.

After catching her bus, it took almost six hours to get to Seattle and after changing buses, it took another hour to get to Olympia where she changed buses once again and that took another two hours just to get to Forks. But as much as Heidi wanted to book a hotel, she knew she couldn't afford to spend the night in one – even the cheapest of places was over budget. Instead, she decided to roam the quiet streets and take everything in.

Admittedly, Heidi had bought a disposable camera in Wisconsin and took pictures of almost everything. Most of her photos would've been of sign posts of where she had been on her journey, just to remind her of how far she had come. Once everything would be over, Heidi decided to find the nearest photography store and develop the photos.

After wondering around the streets for a few hours, Heidi sat down on a bench and decided the best thing to do was at least try to get some rest. She didn't fully realize how tired she was until almost as soon as she lay down on the bench, she was asleep.

Heidi awoke several hours later when she felt light rain fall on her face, causing the brunette to groan as she stretched out her limbs from her position on the now slightly damp bench. Heidi grabbed her belongings and placed her hood over her head and quickly walked towards the nearest general store to buy a large water bottle, some snacks and a map of Forks and La Push; keeping an eye on how much she was spending the entire time, making sure that she would have some money left over.

After paying, Heidi followed the map towards the station to catch a train to La Push. The entire ride, Heidi's eyes were fixed on the beauty of the world outside the window and took many pictures, but always being careful not to use up all the space.

When the train stopped in La Push, Heidi's nerves began to settle inside the pit of her stomach and she wished they would leave her alone. She was finally here; her journey of 1,918 miles, across six states, over the course of eleven days had finally come to an end – and here she was; ready to remove whatever curse that had been placed upon her.

She walked off the train, her eyes were focused completely on her map and she didn't see the group of boys walking in the opposite direction until she bumped into one of them, causing her to drop her belongings as she fell backwards. Pulling off her headphones, she quickly gathered her things. "Goodness, I am so sorry! This was completely my fault."

As she stood back up, Heidi's bright green eyes met with the boy's dark eyes, her heart skipped a beat inside her chest and rapidly accelerating as each second past. The pair didn't say a word to each other, but they were definitely having a telepathic conversation going on. They didn't fully come back to reality until his two friends pulled him away from her, muttering an excuse as they moved on.

Heidi frowned a little before looking back once towards the boys before walking off in the opposite direction, placing her headphones back on her head as she continued to walk, following the map towards her destination; the Quileute Indian Reservation.

 _ **~#~**_

It took almost two hours for her to walk to the reservation, and after getting directions to where she would find the leader of the tribe from a local store owner. The anxiety began rising inside Heidi's stomach again, causing her hands to shake slightly with nerves. It took a little time to be able to breathe normally, before she had the courage to knock on the door.

A man with long black hair answered the door, giving Heidi a sceptical look as his eyes narrowed a little. Probably thinking Heidi was a lost hiker or a girl scout, trying to sell cookies. "Can I help you?"

Heidi took a deep and shaky breath before she began speaking. "My name is Heidi Warrington, I heard about the legends of your tribe and I was wondering if you could help me, you're the only people I could turn to."

"What seems to be the problem?"

"I think... I think I might be a Sabnuhn."

The man's eyes looked as if they were about to pop out of his skull, before he looked around behind Heidi and quickly ushered her inside his home, closing the door firmly behind her. He brought her towards his couch before bringing out a large and old book from the shelf and frantically opened it to a certain page. "Take off your gloves," he said, his eyes moving from Heidi's face to the book every few seconds.

Heidi slowly slid her bag off her back and placed the map on the table in front of her, freezing at her gloves. "I can't – when I take them off, someone dies."

The man looked at Heidi again, bringing out a pair of gardening gloves from a pocket while keeping the book in one hand. "I need to see what we're dealing with here; I need you to take your gloves off so I can properly examine your hands."

Heidi sighed before eventually slowly removing her gloves and watched the man place the book down before placing the gloves on to look at her hands, gently holding them as if they were made of glass and would break into a million tiny pieces at any given moment.

The room was silent for a while as he looked at her hands, stopping every once in a while to look at the book but halted completely once he got to a certain part, his whole demeanour changing within an instant. "There's nothing I can do, I'm sorry. It's too far gone."

Heidi slowly nodded as she stood back up; taking her gloves off the table as she quietly excused herself, placing her gloves back on as she left the house. She started out walking but it soon turned into a jog, then to a run and finally to a sprint. She ran through the empty woods, tears streaming down her cheeks as branches tugged at her hair and clothes; none of those things bothering her has she ran, she just needed to get away from everyone and everything.

She kept on running until she came sliding to a halt at seeing a cliff edge ahead of her, she slowly made her way towards the edge, stopping mere millimetres away from the edge. Her thoughts were only of the things she had done to others in her life; her parents thought of her as a freak, her older sister died at her hands, she had nothing left to truly live for.

Heidi stood on the edge of the cliff, gripping her rosary tightly as she looked down at the vicious waves beneath her. _**Do I**_ _ **really**_ _ **want to do this?**_ She kept asking herself over and over until she closed her eyes and took a shaky breath. _**Yes**_ _ **, I want to do this**_. She gently pressed a kiss to her rosary as she prepared her last words.

"Our Father who art in heaven

Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our bread,

and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us,

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

and the power, and the glory,

for ever and ever

Amen."

She looked up at the sky one last time before turning her back towards the waves and slowly fell backwards, towards the freezing cold water and her death.

* * *

 _ **Note**_

I know, I'm evil for leaving you guys like that but Paul will be a more prominent character in the next chapter! I'm pretty sure the rest of the chapters won't be this long but I did need this chapter to be long because there's so much going on inside it and I couldn't put them into two separate chapters.

You guys have no idea how much research I had to do for this chapter – it's literally insane. I've tried to get things as accurate as possible like researching the towns Heidi's been in, traveling times between each place on modes of transport, weather in the towns… basically everything about Heidi's journey. But if there's anything incorrect; please do let me know! I want to write this book with accurate descriptions so if there's anything wrong with the places Heidi has been, please let me know so I can correct it.

Until next time;

Lorna.


	4. Chapter Three

Heidi's eyes flashed open, as she took a deep inhale of breath as she coughed up water. _**Why am I alive? I should be dead – why am I not dead?**_ She sat up on the sandy floor, looking around her to see if she could find anyone. Her eyes fixed on the bare back of a boy who was tending to a small fire that was in front of him, hidden from Heidi's view. She was tempted to ask about why he was shirtless when she realized that she was wearing someone else's shirt, which she guessed was his.

Tearing her eyes away from the boy's back, Heidi studied her body to make sure nothing was broken or seriously injured but all she found were bruises and a couple of cuts – nothing too serious. A huge wave of relief came over her to know that her injuries weren't life threatening – rather ironic thinking that several hours beforehand, she was standing on top of a cliff and ready to jump and end her own life, now she was checking if her injuries were bad.

Slowly walking up towards the boy, Heidi cleared her throat to catch the boy's attention instead of tapping him on the shoulder since her gloves would've still been on the cliff side, along with all her other possessions. She wondered about her things; if they would still be where she left them or if they'd been stolen and sold on the back market already. Perhaps a slight exaggeration but in this day and age, it wouldn't be such a stretch.

The boy turned around and Heidi's eyes widened as she saw the boy she had seen at the train station when she first arrived in La Push. With her eyes looking as if they were about to pop out of her skull, she took a couple step backwards until the boy grabbed her arms. "Don't freak out! Please don't freak out."

For a moment Heidi couldn't speak – either out of shock or being told not to freak out – she didn't know but almost all she could do was shake her head before the power of speech returned to her. "Why did you save me?! I didn't want to be saved; you should've let me drown. I wanted to go, but you decided to bring me back to living a life of hell," she practically screamed at him, forcing her way out of his grasp and turned away from him, walking towards the woods.

He followed after her, almost running after Heidi. "I couldn't just let you die!"

Heidi paused at his words, slowly turning around to face him. "You don't even _**know**_ me! I'm a monster, I don't deserve to live after the things I've done."

"You're making it sound like you've killed someone."

"That's because I have."

He watched Heidi walk further into the woods before speaking up once again, sighing as he did. "You're going the wrong way."

Heidi paused again, turning around. "What?"

"I'm guessing you want to go back to the cliff to get your stuff or to jump off again – although, I'm hoping it's the first – you're going the wrong way."

Heidi rolled her eyes, her arms folding over her chest. "And which way should I be going?"

"Look, I'll take you; it'll take longer explaining the route than walking there." He sighed, walking in the opposite direction of Heidi.

Heidi's eyes narrowed before she reluctantly followed him, catching up to him quickly so they were walking side by side. "If you're planning on leading me into a trap where other members of your cult show up and try to rape me or murder me and use me for satanic purposes, just know that I'm not as fragile as I appear to be."

"I can assure you that I'm not planning on doing anything like that, I'm Paul, by the way." Paul chuckled a little to himself as he held his hand out towards Heidi.

Heidi glared at his hand for a moment before looking forwards once again, her hands digging into her pockets. "I'm Heidi; and I don't shake hands or any form of touching without gloves on."

Paul slowly lowered his hand and buried it into the pockets of his shorts. "You're not one of those germaphobes, are you?"

A small smile came onto Heidi's lips as she shook her head. "No, I just don't do touching of any kind without my gloves which is why I was going back to the cliff."

"So you weren't going to jump again?"

Heidi looked at him for a moment before looking back in front of her. "No, since the last jump failed; it seems I need to look for another way to end my life."

Paul frowned, trying to not let it show that listening to his imprint talk about killing herself was hurting him. "Can I ask why you want to do it?"

Heidi sighed deeply, shrugging her shoulders. "My parents disowned me after I accidentally killed my older sister, so I came here for help but no help came so I figured that nobody wanted me on Earth anymore so why keep going?"

 _ **I want you here on Earth**_ Paul wanted to say but decided against it since he didn't want to freak Heidi out with his sudden care for her. "Is it rude to ask how it happened?"

Heidi looked towards Paul, noticing the way he was looking at her. In literary terms, he was looking at her as if she was the sun and he was a man trapped in the darkness, waiting for the light to come to guide his way home. Or perhaps, _**she**_ was his home and he wanted to find a way back to her. Either way, the look he gave her was clear that he cared about her to some degree – she would've been an idiot not to notice it.

Shaking her head she didn't say anything for a while, either debating if she should tell him her deadly secret or if she should spare him and let him live a life without it.

It wasn't until the pair arrived at the cliff side that Heidi spoke up, slowly sliding her hands into her gloves. "It's a long story, Paul. I highly doubt you would want to listen to it in its entirety."

"I've got time."

Heidi looked at him for a moment before sighing heavily and beginning her story.

* * *

 _ **Note**_

Just as a heads up, I've edited the summary a little so you guys may want to check it out in case you get confused as to what's really going on and why some things have changed. I finally got round to updating this story so as usual; I apologize for the delay.

I don't quite know how I feel about this chapter – it's kind of a mess but I kind of like it? I'm just so confused over it but whatever.

Until next time;

Lorna.


	5. Chapter Four

By the time Heidi had finished her story, it was almost nightfall and the pair had to rush through the dark forest to get back to Paul's home. Thankfully, Paul knew the way like the back of his hand and Heidi had to rush to keep up with him at some points.

Just as Heidi was about to jump over a fallen tree trunk, she heard someone call her name; loud and clear almost as if they were right beside her. "Did you hear that?" Heidi paused, looking around her but she saw nothing in the dusk.

Paul stopped too, looking back at Heidi as he frowned. "Hear what?"

Heidi kept looking around her for the source of the voice for a moment before turning back to Paul, shaking her head as she forced herself to smile, "doesn't matter."

Before Paul had a chance to say anything, Heidi jumped over the tree trunk and was making her way through the dark forest. She vaguely knew where she needed to go but she was moving at a glacial pace due to how dark it was and how the forest floor was littered with slippery twigs and rocks beneath her feet.

Paul reluctantly followed after her, keeping an eye on her as they made their way through the forest. In truth, Heidi was practically falling asleep as she walked while also ignoring the voices call her name over and over again. After having to deal with the constant bullying and cruel words back home, Heidi learned to block out everything and only focus on her own thoughts.

Leaning against a tree, Heidi took a break to catch her breath and she must have fallen asleep since when she woke up, she was in a warm bed and had her clothes removed and placed over a chair in the corner of the room. Looking under the covers, Heidi noticed that she was wearing a long sleeved top, shorts and some warm fuzzy socks, her gloves still on – which gave her some relief that she wasn't naked.

Just as she was about to drift off back into sleep, Heidi sat upright in her bed, her eyes wide as she looked around the dark room, just in time to see a dark shadow dart out of the open window. Frowning, Heidi pushed her covers off her body and walked slowly towards the window, being careful to not wake anyone up as she reached it.

Looking out of the window, she saw the shadow waiting for her, beckoning her to follow after it before it flew up into the sky and burst into a ball of blue light, illuminating the darkness around Heidi.

Heidi's mind was telling her not to go out but something was telling her to go after it, almost like she was meant to follow it. Against her better judgement, Heidi removed her gloves and climbed out of the window to follow the light. Once she was standing under the light, it moved ahead of her and waited once more. Heidi laughed softly as she ran through the silent forest, following the blue light. Strangely enough, she didn't feel cold as she ran through the forest. It didn't make any sense to her, but she didn't really care in that moment.

After running for what seemed like mere minutes, the light stopped in the middle of a clearing and allowed Heidi to catch up to it and stand underneath it. The blue light turned into an orb that slowly drifted into the palm of Heidi's hands, the light shining through the gaps between her fingers. She gave the orb a little push and it flew back into the skies above her head, illuminating everything around her in a blue light. Heidi smiled as she watched the orb, and felt her feet slowly rise from the ground and the feeling of weightlessness came over her as she slowly began to float.

She drifted slowly around the orb before leaning backwards until she was resting on her back, her smile still on her lips. The orb faced her before it grew smaller – almost to the size of a marble – and floated towards Heidi's mouth before Heidi stopped it, suddenly confused as to what was going on. She tried to explain her confusion but no words came out of her mouth and the orb moved closer to her mouth again, but she tried to stop it again but her limbs wouldn't move, no matter how hard she tried.

The orb fell into Heidi's mouth, causing the girl gasping before her head tilted backwards and fell limp, her eyes closing as the blue light dimed until it was complete darkness.

* * *

 _ **Note**_

I have finally come up with how I want to end this story so I can now estimate how long this story will be along with when and where I want it to end. So that means more updates; yay!

I really need to stop with all these possessions in my stories but I'll probably continue to do them, whoopsies. Everything will be explained soon so hopefully, you won't be so confused for much longer.

Sorry this chapter is shorter than usual, I had writer's block with this chapter and I've been so busy with work but I wanted to get a chapter out for you lovelies. The next few chapters will be a lot longer, I promise!

Until next time;

Lorna.


	6. Chapter Five

When Heidi awoke the next morning, she was back in her bed and wondered if she dreamed the whole thing until she pushed the covers off her and saw her feet were still covered in dirt. _**So it**_ _ **wasn't**_ _ **a dream, then.**_ She walked slowly towards her bathroom and stared at her reflection in her mirror – whatever had happened last night, it certainly made Heidi feel different. She didn't know what it was but she knew something had changed inside of her, and that scared her. There was a presence with her, and she never felt alone, like someone was behind her and was constantly watching her.

Shaking away those thoughts and feelings, Heidi took a shower and changed out of her dirty sleep clothes. Tying her hair into loose braids, Heidi walked out of her room towards the kitchen to see a note on the counter; "out for a run, help yourself to whatever's in the fridge, Paul". A slight smile came onto her lips as she read the note before she walked towards the fridge, opening it and began looking for something to eat; eventually settling on some chocolate milk to keep her going.

Just as she was about to pour herself some milk, she saw a dark figure out of the corner or her eye, causing her to drop the milk and the bottle shattered on the floor beside her feet. Turning around, the figure was still there and staring at her. It continued to stare for several moments before it moved towards the sitting room, Heidi following behind it. Heidi stopped in the middle of the room, looking around to find anyone there but of course – there was nothing there. "What do you want from me?!" She screamed to the invisible entity that surrounded her. The house fell silent after her scream, but that didn't put her at rest; in fact, it only made her even more alert of every small movement that was happening around her.

When the dark figure reappeared in front of her, Heidi didn't bother screaming at it. Backing away slowly, she kept her eyes on it until she was out of the room, then she turned and began to sprint out of the house and into the woods to get away from it.

She looked back at it and although she didn't see anything, she continued to sprint further and further into the woods until she reached a clearing where she stopped to catch her breath. She wanted to cry but she knew that crying wouldn't resolve anything so she didn't let her tears fall and swallowed the sob that was threatening to leave her lips.

Heidi didn't know how long she was out there but she knew she had been there long enough to make her way back, but before she could the shadow figure returned. Heidi was paralyzed with fear and her feet refused to move, no matter how much her mind was screaming at them to move.

Instead of the figure simply staring, it seemed to morph into something else. The dark mist that surrounded it moulded it into the shape of a lean, muscular woman with stark white skin and dark black eyes. The woman was nude with only a wrap skirt around her waist and her long dark hair covering her chest that went down to her hips; on her head was a dark headdress with skulls upon it.

The woman walked slowly towards Heidi and spoke in a surprisingly calm and almost robotic voice. "Hello, Heidi, it's so nice to finally meet you. I have waited millennia for you."

A single tear dropped from Heidi's eye and rolled down her cheek as she watched the woman come towards her, the power of speech slowly returning to her. "Who are you? What do you want from me?"

The woman almost seemed to smile as she stopped in front of Heidi, kneeling down in front of her; giving Heidi a chance to properly look at her face which was almost beautiful but Heidi knew that it was too good to be true. "I am Ereshkigal, and I am your salvation, Heidi of the Americas."

* * *

 _ **Note**_

All will be revealed soon, my loves. For reference; Ereshkigal is a real goddess and if you guys wanna learn more about her; she's the queen of the underworld and the goddess of death in Mesopotamian mythology. She's pretty awesome. You pronounce her name like ey-resh-kee-gahl.

For some weird and unknown reason, I imagine Ereshkigal's voice like ALIE's in The 100.

Until next time;

Lorna.


	7. Chapter Six

Heidi didn't run off as she watched Ereshkigal come towards her; she wasn't scared anymore, she was just confused as to what was really happening. She knew who Ereshkigal was; she read about her when she was researching about her power all those weeks ago, although it now felt like a lifetime ago.

Ereshkigal was the queen of hell, goddess of death itself, the spectre of darkness… whatever you wanted to call her – she was bad news and would easily give the Devil himself a run for his money in terms of being evil.

Leaning against a tree, Heidi licked her lips and sucked in a breath. "You're the queen of hell; you could have anyone in the world… why do you want me?"

Ereshkigal almost laughed as she twirled a slither of black smoke around her fingertips. "Heidi, darling, I have been with you since the day you were born… your power of death was from me."

Heidi frowned, stepping away from the tree to walk in a semi-circle around Ereshkigal, knowing her eyes were following. "But why?"

"It is your destiny to come with me and serve at my feet; all the others have fallen but you are by far the most promising."

"There are others?"

"Of course, I needed a back-up plan if one failed; I really have thought these things through."

"If this was my destiny, why did you wait so long to do this?"

"I needed to make sure that you were ready, the last hopefuls turned out to be _**completely**_ useless." Ereshkigal almost seemed frustrated when saying that, her eyes rolling as she stopped playing with the black smog that surrounded her.

Heidi didn't know how to react; a part of her was relieved to know that she wasn't the only one to see Ereshkigal, but another part was still terrified of the entire situation. Plucking up all the courage she had, Heidi spoke up. "If I go with you; what do I get?"

It seemed as if Ereshkigal sensed Heidi's fear because she took a step towards the teen and placed a freezing hand over hers. "Whatever your heart desires, Heidi, anything and everything you have ever wanted will be yours. You will be connected to thousands of years of history; queens, commanders, warriors have all taken this vow and joined my side, now it's your turn."

The offer did sound tempting; she would finally have a place where she belonged rather than constantly feel as if she was an outsider but there had to be a catch, there always was. Sure, she'd have people who would want her around but she would probably never see Paul again if she went with Ereshkigal. Heidi knew how dangerous she was and she wasn't sure if she truly wanted it.

Ereshkigal noticed the silence between the pair after Heidi didn't answer so she continued to speak as if the silence hadn't happened. "Come, fulfil your destiny, child."

"What if I refuse?" Heidi asked as eyebrows fused together, licking her lips.

"Then I'll do it by force."

Anger began to rise within Heidi at her comment; if Ereshkigal was going to take her choice by force, then of course Heidi would fight back – she'd been through far too much to just accept her fate. "Do your worst, _**bitch**_ ," she spat.

"Very well, have it your way." Ereshkigal smirked darkly, black smoke surrounding the pair and swirled around Heidi.

The black smoke rose higher, covering the sunlight above Heidi's head and leaving her in the darkness with Ereshkigal in front of her, slowly walking towards her like a cat stalking its prey, waiting for any movements to signal a weakness then she would go in for the kill.

The anger Heidi felt disappeared and she was filled with fear once again; fearing her death at the hands of the queen of death itself. Ereshkigal's cold hands rested on Heidi's cheek before her fingers moved down to her neck and noticed the rosary still around her neck.

Ereshkigal growled and ripped the necklace off Heidi, holding it in her hand before she crushed it with her iron grip and allowed it to dissolve into ash before allowing the ash to fall to the floor. "Your god cannot save you now, Heidi."

Ereshkigal's calm voice was gone and a demonic voice was in its place, chilling Heidi to her core. Ereshkigal's black eyes turned into a goldish light, showing up against the swirling darkness that surrounded the pair.

Just as her smoke was about to enter Heidi's mouth, a voice from outside of the darkness called Heidi's name, stopping Ereshkigal in her tracks and caused her to growl in frustration of being interrupted.

"Heidi!" Paul's voice called out, completely unaware of the attempted possession going on in the woods just up ahead of him.

 _ **Oh thank god.**_

"This isn't over, Heidi of the Americas. You _**will**_ submit to my power soon, child. And remember; no matter where you run, or where you hide – I will find you. You are mine." Ereshkigal hissed before her black form seemed to fade into nothingness and Heidi was alone once more.

The sunlight returned and all traces of Ereshkigal and her black smog left; the only reminder was the small pile of ash that used to be Heidi's rosary rested beside Heidi's feet. With everything that had happened, Heidi's legs buckled and she fell to the floor; completely in shock over Ereshkigal's words and her warning. Her nightmare wasn't over, and it was possible that it would never truly be over.

Paul arrived at the clearing several moments later, and found Heidi crying while in the foetal position, gently rocking herself back and forth, muttering incoherent things to herself. He tried to ask her what had happened but she shook her head – what would she tell him? An ancient goddess wanted to possess her and none of them were safe from her clutches? No, he'd never believe her in a million years. She said nothing as she gripped onto him as tightly as she could, sobbing into the crook of his neck.

* * *

 _ **Note**_

I've decided that Ereshkigal's theme song is No Strings on Me from the Age of Ultron trailer; it fits her so well. The next chapter will be short as hell because it's kind of a filler chapter, but chapter eight will be super long to make-up for it. I would've combined this chapter and the next but I like the ending to this chapter so I'll leave it as it is.

Until next time;

Lorna.


	8. Chapter Seven

After Heidi's first real encounter with Ereshkigal, she refused to be left alone and had someone outside her door at all times and had Paul by her side whenever possible. Even with that added protection from Paul, Heidi still asked for spiritual protection from the tribe and was quickly blessed and assured that the ancient spirits of their ancestors would protect her and fight off her demons. Heidi desperately wanted to believe that the spiritual protection would help her against Ereshkigal but she knew that it wouldn't be enough to stop her forever, sooner or later she was going to come for her and no amount of blessings would stop her.

Although the blessings and spiritual help suppressed Ereshkigal or her shadowy minions from appearing while Heidi was awake, it wasn't enough to stop the nightmares, the dreams of Ereshkigal taking over.

They always started the same way. Ancient temples sprouted from sandy wildernesses. Elaborately carved marble columns inlaid with jade, silver, and gold rose more than a hundred years tall and listened in the harsh sunlight. As always, she was surrounded by thousands of servants, bowing subserviently – which, embarrassingly, even in her dream, she greatly enjoyed. They were chanting words she could never understand.

After staring at the temples, she suddenly noticed that she was standing in the middle of an immense koi pond. The ancient fish, large and meaty, swam about her feet as if guarding her from some underwater enemy. She saw herself reflected in the eerily calm water, but she wasn't seeing the face of Heidi Warrington; the abandoned child with no place to call home, parents considered her dead and nobody would ever want her in their lives. Instead, a lean, muscular woman with stark white skin and dark black eyes stared back at her.

Then the dream ended as it always did. The reflection reached out to touch her – or she was trying to drag Heidi down? – and just as her fingers were about to touch, she woke up screaming and Paul would have to come in and calm her down, assuring her that it was just a nightmare and it wasn't real and she was safe, although Heidi knew it wasn't just a nightmare – it was a warning, telling her that Ereshkigal was coming back for her and it would happen soon.

The night terrors went on for almost two weeks straight, and almost as soon as they had started, they stopped and for one whole week; everything was silent and calm and everyone went back to their normal routine, thinking the worst was finally over and everything would be okay. But they were wrong; in reality, the worst was just about to start. And their entire world would be turned upside down and destroyed.

* * *

 _ **Note**_

I told you this chapter would be short – but like I said in the last chapter, the next will be super long to make-up for it.

Until next time;

Lorna.


	9. Chapter Eight

During that week of silence and calm, Heidi allowed herself to relax and had finally gotten some good nights of sleep. She'd gotten closer to Paul, too, and got to know the man who had saved her life. As it turned out, they had a lot in common. They both liked the same type of music, weather and had the same plan to travel the world at some point. They almost kissed one or twice during that time, but Heidi stopped herself before anything happened. She wasn't ready for anything like that, and she wanted the entire mess with Ereshkigal to be over with before she began a relationship.

Heidi was sat on her bed, reading a book with loud music blaring from the small speakers on her phone to fill in the silence. As she got to the last sentence on the page she was on, she heard someone whisper her name in her ear, causing her to look around but finding no-one there. Shrugging her shoulders, she turned her music up louder and continued reading until she heard it again. Heidi frowned as she looked around her empty bedroom, expecting to find someone behind her or beside her, whispering in her ear but found nobody there. "Hello? Is anyone there?" She called out, placing her book down on her bed and moving off of her bed and towards her door to ask if anyone else had heard the voices.

Just as she was about to reach her bedroom door to walk out of it, the door slammed in her face, causing her to let out a slight scream from surprise. She walked up to her door and tried to open it, but found it locked. She frowned again, trying to open it once more but had no results, sighing she tried to walk back to her bed but her book fell off and narrowly missed her feet. She would've passed it off as the book being placed on an edge but since it was in the middle of her bed, there was no real way for it to fall over like that unless it was thrown off.

That was when she felt something grab her and pull her down, causing her to scream once more as she forced her way out of the grip of the invisible force that pulled her down. Forcing herself up, she ran towards her bed where her phone was but once she was on her bed, something pulled her body down and forced the phone out of her hand, landing on the floor beside her.

A dark, pitch black smoke seemed to surround both her and her room, making it almost impossible for her to see anything. She felt cold hands grip her body, holding her down forcefully before she saw them – shadowy figures surrounded her and refused to let her go, no matter how hard she struggled. Heidi knew what was coming, Ereshkigal had come for her. "No, please no… I need more time," she sobbed, trying to escape.

Heidi struggled in the cold grip of the… _**things**_ that surrounded her, tears streaming down her cheeks as she desperately looked around for a way out. She looked towards what she guessed the leader, they were communicating with one of the other things before the leader got out a huge knife, causing Heidi to struggle and cry harder. "What is that? What are you doing? Please stop, if you let me go, I promise I won't tell anyone what happened. Just _**please**_ , let me go." The moment her last sentence left her lips, one of the things placed a rag over her mouth and tied it tightly to stop her from talking and making too much noise, since one of the things smashed Heidi's phone to stop it from making any noise – leaving the room in a deafening silence.

The things started chanting a song that gradually got louder and louder until they were screaming, only stopping when the leader brought the knife down on Heidi's bare leg, causing a large cut to form on it. Heidi screamed into the rag in pain, trying to get out of the grip but still couldn't. The room fell silent once more, as another series of dark mists arrived in the room but Heidi knew this was different. One of the things took the rag out of her mouth but Heidi didn't scream – either out of fear or curiosity of the new entity that appeared in her bedroom, she didn't fully know.

The bedside light that was still on beside her fell off the table and seemed to roll across the floor until it stopped on one thing and showed trails of black fog dissipating behind it like a comet's burning trail, as it's – head? – drifted toward the back of the room. Then, in the pitch, she saw eyes.

Frightening eyes.

Animalistic eyes.

Glowing. Staring at Heidi.

The eyes belonged to a person, barely visible until her eyes adjusted to the darkness. It was a frail woman, only partially of flesh and bone. Heidi looked close and saw that she was also made of smoke, and fog, and mist. Heidi knew who she was.

 _ **Ereshkigal.**_

She heard the woman speak, but she wasn't certain if the voice was spoken aloud, or echoing somewhere in her mind.

"We've both been waiting our entire lives for this, haven't we, Heidi?" Ereshkigal asked. "Do you remember our deal?"

"Yes," Heidi replied aloud. "Of course I remember; they came in my dreams."

The black fog that was Ereshkigal drifted toward her, then reached out and held Heidi's face in amorphous, cold hands. "I am more than a dream, Heidi. I am your destiny – and you are mine."

Heidi tried to pull away but Ereshkigal's minions held her down tighter, making escape almost impossible. She struggled, kicking the minions as hard as she could but nothing seemed to work. She cried out as she fought them. "Let go of me! Paul! Help me! _**Someone**_ , please!" But they wouldn't. She turned, twisted and tried to escape again, but they refused to let go.

"Stop fighting us, Heidi." Still Ereshkigal's voice was coming from the smoke. "This has been your destiny since before you were born; you know this far too well."

Ereshkigal's minions seemed to disappear into the black smoke then, knowing their work was done for their queen. Heidi was almost on the verge of passing out from the adrenaline that was pulsing through her veins, tiring her out after being activated for so long. She couldn't move; movement just seemed to take up far too much energy – energy that Heidi no longer had from fighting and being scared out of her mind.

"It is so exciting," Ereshkigal continued, as if she had not been interrupted. "Worlds are going to open up for both of us, and now that I have arrived here, you must let me in."

Heidi didn't respond, nor did she try to resist as Ereshkigal's face nearly touched her own.

"I must be whole again," the shadowy figure said as the smoky tendrils entered her prisoner's nose and mouth.

Heidi inhaled, and the two were one.

* * *

 _ **Note**_

So this is what you've all been waiting for and I hope this didn't disappoint. I based the scenes where Heidi sees Ereshkigal in her dreams (in chapter seven) and becomes possessed (in this chapter) from the Suicide Squad book so I don't take full credit for that.

Tag, You're It by Melanie Martinez was pretty much on constant repeat while I wrote this chapter so that gives you an idea of why it's so dark.

Triple update, wow I do spoil you guys sometimes – hope you enjoyed it!

Until next time;

Lorna.


	10. Chapter Nine

When Heidi opened her eyes; the bedroom door was open, the bedside lamp was back on the table, her book was on the bed beside her, but her phone was still smashed – just reminding her that everything was real and what had happened wasn't a dream. She felt that feeling again, the one where someone was behind her and watching over her shoulder. But she wasn't afraid, however. Instead, she felt comforted by that feeling. It reminded her that Ereshkigal was with her, and that everything would be okay.

She knew she couldn't tell anyone about her little secret, somehow, she just knew. She was sure they'd figure it out at some point, that was fairly obvious. But for now, it would just be between her and Ereshkigal.

Heidi walked out of her room, almost in a trance-like state, her eyes rolled back inside her head. She snapped out of it as soon as she felt a warm hand on her arm. Jumping from shock, she turned to face who had touched her arm.

She relaxed a little when it was just Paul, she gave him a light smile. Paul gave her a smile back, looking directly into her green eyes – quickly noticing a slight blackness to them that hadn't been there before her. He could tell the blackness wasn't her pupil, no, this was far darker than just black. This was the kind of black that could devour everything.

But when Heidi blinked, the blackness had gone, and her green eyes showed no signs of darkness. Frowning, Heidi cleared her throat a little. "Everything okay, Paul?"

Paul blinked numerous times, almost making sure he wasn't just seeing things. He nodded his head, deciding not to freak out Heidi anymore than she already was. "Yeah, everything's fine. You hungry at all?"

Heidi nodded, feeling her stomach ache and groan. She hadn't quite realised how hungry she was until Paul offered her food. Both of them smiled at each other, walking into the kitchen.

As Paul began to prepare a chicken dish for the pair, Heidi breathed in the smell of the meat. She'd never been a big meat eater but ever since Ereshkigal had taken over, she'd suddenly only ever wanted to eat meat. Even if it wasn't cooked, she would've devoured it regardless.

Paul placed down a plate of chicken and a few vegetables in front of Heidi and before Paul had even gotten a chance to give her a knife and fork and sit down himself, Heidi had already picked up the hot piece of meat and began biting into it.

Paul stared at her in disbelief as her heard the cracking of bones as Heidi devoured every part of the chicken – including the bones and fat. Heidi had finished it in seconds and it filled a slight sense of her hunger, but she knew deep down the only thing that would truly satisfy her – Ereshkigal had told her inside her head. For the hunger to be truly quenched, once must kill an innocent and devour their heart.

Heidi gave him a gentle smile, picking up a carrot from her plate and placing it in her mouth as she walked out of the kitchen. "Thanks for the food!" she called back to him before walking back into her room, closing the door behind her and there she stayed until the darkness surrounded the house.

Lying on her bed, Heidi's eyes were closed – but she wasn't asleep. She was learning more about the women who came before her from Ereshkigal until she felt her stomach ache and groan again but this time it was more intense than last time.

"We must feed, child." Ereshkigal informed her, causing Heidi to open her eyes and get out of bed. Opening her window, Heidi climbed out of it and began to walk through the silent forest, her bare feet making no noise as she walked on the branch and leaf covered floor.

As she walked, her hunger got more and more intense, driving her insane from the aching. She stopped by a tree to rub her stomach to try to ease the pain, but no amount of rubbing would help.

 _She_ _ **needed**_ _to feed._

Going further into the forest, Heidi came across a man sat in front of a small campfire. Licking her lips, Heidi slowly walked towards him, quickly making her presence known by him. She gave him a small smile. "May I sit?"

The man nodded, moving along a little to create room for Heidi beside him. She sat down and stared into the flames, neither of them speaking to one another until the man made signals with his hands that he was unable to speak, causing Heidi to make an O shape with her mouth, nodding slowly in understanding.

Heidi stood and walked in front of the man, blocking his view of the fire as she towered over him. As she stared down at him, Heidi's eyes turned completely black as she trailed a finger along the man's cheek, a dark grin spreading across her face before she moved in for the kill.

* * *

 _ **Note**_

Heidi has joined the dark side [insert Imperial March here], against her will, of course.

Sorry this took so long to be put up, I've been focusing on my fanfics for The Enemy and they've been taking up a lot of my time. I also did a film course for a few months and had almost no time for writing but thankfully, I've completed it and I'm back writing pretty much full time once again.

Anyways; I am finally 21 (my birthday was on the 17th August yay me) – I have properly left the realm of teenage-hood behind and I'm now somewhat an adult. I just have one question; who in their right mind let me adult? I cannot adult. I don't even know how my own oven works. Like, that should be a dead giveaway that I should never ever be allowed to adult.

Until next time;

Lorna.


	11. Chapter Ten

Heidi slipped back inside and silently made her way towards the bathroom and turned on the shower, stepping in after stripping off her blood and dirt covered clothes. She closed her eyes as she stood under the hot water before opening them again, watching the blood and dirt be washed off her body and go down the drain.

The hunger inside of her had subsided, but she was scared when it would return, and she would have to kill again. She didn't really want to do it, but she knew that she had to, and there was no going against Ereshkigal.

Climbing out of the shower, Heidi wrapped a towel around herself and stared at her clothes on the floor. She needed to dispose of them, but she didn't know how.

"Burn them," Ereshkigal whispered in Heidi's ear, answering her unspoken question, her dark fingertips playing with Heidi's damp hair while the other hand was twisting around Heidi's arm. "Nobody will ever know what happened. If someone sees, just say you couldn't sleep and wanted some air."

Heidi slowly nodded, making her way out of the bathroom and towards her room to change. Dropping the towel onto the floor, Heidi changed into a fresh t-shirt and shorts, forcing her feet into her boots before returning to the bathroom to pick up her blood-soaked clothes and climbing out the window again.

She made her way towards the fire pit, eyes fixed straight ahead of her. Throwing her clothes into the centre of the fire pit, Ereshkigal materialised beside her and ignited the pile of clothes. Staring into the flames, Heidi watched her clothes burn. "Now I am become death... the destroyer of worlds," Heidi muttered softly to herself, fixating on the flames.

Ereshkigal clung a little to Heidi, brushing her hair behind her shoulder to look at her illuminated face better. "Soon, you will be the most powerful being on this Earth. Kings will tremble at your feet, everyone will worship your every move, you will have whatever you desire. You were born for this Heidi, same as me."

Heidi thought of her words. As much as she wanted and craved that on the surface, she knew deep down she didn't need it. All she truly wanted was a sense of belonging – one that was earned, not handed to her on a golden platter.

Staring into the flames, Heidi's eyes fluttered shut and she collapsed and sank into a world of darkness.

Heidi awoke back in bed with the sunlight beaming down on her face, the smell of bacon and French toast wafting from the kitchen and the sounds of talking and laughter echoing into her room. After changing, she made her way out to the kitchen.

The laughter slowly died out when Heidi walked in, the only sounds were Heidi's bare feet softly sliding across the wooden floorboards. Paul looked at Heidi, almost dropping the piece of French toast that was on his fork as he noticed her eyes. The blackness in her eyes he'd seen the day before had grown, becoming more noticeable. But within the blink of an eye, it was gone.

Heidi shook her head a little and walked outside to the fire pit, smiling faintly at the small pile of ash of what was left of her clothes. Sitting down on one of the logs, she glared at the ash as she tried to fight back her tears. "They all think I'm a freak," she whispered, sniffing as tears began to form in her eyes.

She felt arms around her, fingers being ran through her hair. "They don't understand you, Heidi. They will _**never**_ understand you. You are far above them, and they see that. Soon, we will have every single one of them bow at your feet. Soon, you won't need to hide your hunger and your killing, they will know, and they will help you – as will I." Ereshkigal reassured her, but it didn't help much – it was still setting a divide between her and everyone else.

Heidi shook her head, wiping away her tears with the back of her hand. "I just want to belong, not be separated from people."

"Heidi, sweetheart," Ereshkigal turned Heidi to face her. "You belong with me and every girl who came before you as mine – with me, you'll always have a place to belong. Don't you ever forget that. For as long as you and I are connected, we will belong to one another."

* * *

 _ **Note**_

I'm planning on having this story finished by the end of the year – I've dragged it on for way too long and it's not fair on any of you guys, so fingers crossed I can pull it off. Sorry this chapter is a little short, I want to try to get to the darker stuff quickly without rushing the story, so this is what my brain decided was the best course of action.

Happy Halloween my loves! Hope your day/night is filled with spooky things!

Until next time;

Lorna.


	12. Chapter Eleven

Weeks flew by and Heidi and Ereshkigal only seemed to grow stronger together, every time Heidi fed, she could feel her strength only growing and the bond she had with Ereshkigal soon took over everything. She became more and more isolated from Paul and the others, choosing to walk alone through the vast woods or sit in her room and read.

One dark and stormy night, Heidi felt the hunger inside her become unbearable. Forcing her window open, Heidi was instantly drenched from the relentless wind and rain pounding on the ground outside. It reminded her of the last night at home all those months ago, which seemed more like a forever ago.

Under Ereshkigal's guidance, Heidi walked through the woods towards her prey, uncaring of the freezing rain pounding down on her skin.

Back at the house, Embry awoke to a cold breeze blowing onto his arm and a sinking feeling inside his chest. Opening Heid's door to check up on her, his heart dropped when he saw the open window. Fearing she may have run away, he vaulted out the window and sprinted into the rain after her.

It didn't take long for him to find Heidi – kneeling over something he couldn't quite make out. Cautiously making his way over, he called out to her. "Heidi?"

Heidi's head snapped in Embry's direction, letting out an animalistic screech as she looked at him, her jaw growing unnaturally wide, so wide he was afraid her jaw might snap. Blood covered her face and body, her mouth becoming a bloodied mess of flesh and bone.

Embry knew in that moment that whatever was in front of him was not Heidi, not even human, what in front of him was a monster.

Slowly, Embry took a few steps backwards, his eyes still fixed on Heidi's feasting form – still looking at him as she ate, shovelling flesh into her mouth as if her life depended upon it. A few moments later, Embry couldn't handle the horror any longer and turned and sprinted back towards the house, not once looking back.

Embry didn't stop running until he reached the house, screaming as loudly as he could over the thunder and lightning for everyone to wake up as he ran back inside. Within moments, everyone was awake, and the lights were on, with everyone gathered in the living room.

Still breathless from running, Embry started speaking. "It's Heidi."

"What about her?" Paul asked.

Remembering what he had seen, he knew he could never put into words the horror he had just witnessed, but he knew his brothers already knew. "T-there's something wrong with her… I saw something in her... it's not Heidi."

Little did they know that Heidi was already back inside, stripping off her clothes and washing off the blood and dirt off her in the sink. Ereshkigal was beside her, gently playing with her hair. "You have to kill them all, Heidi. They know too much."

Heidi shook her head, turning to look at Ereshkigal. "I don't want to hurt Paul. I _**can't**_ hurt him."

Ereshkigal sighed, rolling her eyes as her hand dropped from her hair. "You're weak... I had so much hope in you, but it turns out you're just as weak and pathetic as the others."

Tears began to form in Heidi's eyes as she left the bathroom to put on clean clothes, leaving her dirty clothes in the bathroom. She didn't want to kill anymore, she just wanted to be free from her curse and live a normal life but Ereshkigal wouldn't let her.

Turning to face the goddess, Heidi finally snapped. "I can't live like this!"

"In that case, I'm sorry, Heidi but I have no choice," Ereshkigal raised her hand, her eyes glowing a bright green. "Your purpose to me has expired."

Heidi slowly started to move back, her tears pricking her eyes as she shook her head. "No please no, please don't do this."

"You know if you don't fight it, this will be over a lot quicker."

Heidi fell to her knees in front of Ereshkigal, her eyes closing as tears fell freely down her cheeks. "Just kill me already."

Ereshkigal hesitated, her head cocking to one side. "Now, Heidi, what good will you do me if you're dead?"

Heidi frowned, wiping away her tears with the back of her hand. "You don't want me… you just want my body. That's what you wanted all along."

Ereshkigal smirked, grabbing Heidi's neck and pulling her up to her height. "Well done, little one. Took you long enough to figure it out. Your body isn't big enough for the both of us, however."

Heidi's eyes widened as she tried to scream but nothing came out as her eyes turned black as Ereshkigal slowly started to dissolve into Heidi. Ereshkigal vanished as the door burst open, and Heidi's body collapsed to the floor.

* * *

 _ **Note**_

Dun dun duuuuuunnn. So now that Ereshkigal is properly in charge of Heidi's body, should I keep referring to her as Heidi or Ereshkigal? I don't want you guys to get confused.

Until next time;

Lorna.


	13. Chapter Twelve

As soon as Paul saw Heidi on the floor, he sprinted over to her body, snatching the blanket from her bed and wrapped it around her body in order to pick her up and take her to her bed.

"Paul," Embry called behind him. "That is _**not**_ Heidi."

Paul glared at Embry, gently caressing the top of Heidi's head. "Be quiet, Embry."

Embry sighed, knowing that it was almost impossible to get through to Paul without any kind of proof – exiting the room for a moment, Embry came back into the room with a large book in his hand, flipping through the book until he stopped at a certain page and looked at Paul for a moment before speaking.

"We don't fully know the extent of her powers yet, but we do know who is in Heidi's body so it's a start. Her name is Ereshkigal, she's the queen of Irkalla, the land of the dead or underworld. She's basically like the female version of Hades except older and more powerful, she's one evil bitch."

Paul frowned, walking over to Embry to look at the book. "How are you so sure?"

Embry looked between Paul and the book. "At first, I thought it was because she was a Sabnuhn – she thought so as well. The touch of death? It has Sabnuhn written all over it. But Sabnuhn's don't devour the hearts of others or develop black eyes after doing so. That was when I knew this was something else."

Paul nodded his head slowly, he didn't want to believe it but what Embry was telling him made sense – could Heidi actually be a monster?

"So what do we do?"

Embry placed the still open book on a table and thought for a moment. "We need to tie her to the bed – we can't let her out. Now that we know that Ereshkigal is in Heidi's body; she's not just a danger to herself or us anymore, we're talking about the potential destruction of all mankind here."

Paul nodded once more, grabbing as many leather belts as he could find and began restraining Heid's ankles and wrists to the bed, making sure they were tight enough to hold her in place but somewhat lose enough to not cause any permanent injury.

Afterwards, the pair waited for Heidi to wake up, getting chairs and placed them at the end of the bed, watching Heidi closely.

When Heidi's eyes slowly fluttered open, she almost immediately began to struggle against the restraints around her wrists and ankles, her mind screaming at her to get out. "Paul, what are you doing? Let me out, please!"

"We all know it's not really you, Heidi. Or should I say _**Ereshkigal**_?" Embry almost spat out as he gripped the book in his hands.

She lost all sense of fear in her face within a heartbeat, rolling her eyes as she glared in Paul's direction, a look of pure hatred and irritation spread across her face. "You are so easy to fool, but clearly not easy enough," she almost chuckled a little.

Paul began to grind his teeth together, trying to keep in his anger. "You take me instead, you hear me?! You take me instead! Leave her alone!"

Ereshkigal laughed at his frail attempt, shaking her head. "I don't want your body, _**werewulf**_. I want _**hers**_. What? You thought I didn't know your little secret, shame you didn't tell little Heidi. She'll hate you now."

"How did you know?" Embry whispered.

"I've been alive for a millennium, I know more than you could possibly imagine," Ereshkigal responded, her head cocking to one side as she focused on Embry. "Now that that's established, let me go."

Embry shook his head. "We can't."

Ereshkigal sighed, rolling her eyes once more. " _ **LET ME GO**_!" a deep and almost demonic voice screamed out of Heidi's mouth as she pulled against the restraints, causing a shiver to run down both Embry and Paul's spines.

"Not until you tell us where she is! Where's Heidi?!" Paul shouted.

Ereshkigal smirked, her dark eyes focused on Paul. "Don't worry, she's safe. Locked away inside an alternate reality inside her own head – I can assure you that no harm has or will come to her."

* * *

 _ **Note**_

I'm trying super hard to get this story finished by the end of the year but lemme tell you, this chapter was a bitch to write. That and I've recently become obsessed with the K-Drama Goblin/Guardian: The Lonely and Great God and I can't stop watching it.

This chapter used to be two, but I decided to combine them to make one to speed the story up a little and to bring my motivation back and get out of writer's block.

I hope you all have an amazing Christmas and an even better New Year, bring on 2019!

I've also opened a page so if you guys want to support me (you don't have to!) and get some awesome rewards as well, my profile is; BuffyHasNoLife

Until next time;

Lorna.


	14. Chapter Thirteen

Heidi's eyes opened to dusk around her, standing up from lying on the tarmac. She looked around her to see if she recognised where she was but there was nothing. Taking a deep breath, Heidi slowly walked forward and tried to keep herself calm in this alien situation.

Something didn't seem right – she just couldn't put her finger upon it.

As soon as Heidi wished for a light and a signpost, both of them appeared right in front of her. The words "Welcome to Pepin; If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything" appeared on a dark green sign in front of her, under a large and almost blinding spotlight.

"This isn't real, this can't be real," Heidi whispered, her head shaking slowly.

"It's as real as you want it to be," a voice came from in front of her, a dark figure stepping out from behind the sign. They were tall, slender and seemed to be dressed in a dark suit with a black hat on.

As they stepped into the light, Heidi saw that it was a man with dark eyes and was honestly, downright gorgeous. But the sad thig, is that he wasn't Paul. This man had pale skin and was slightly taller than Paul was – but was undoubtedly attractive.

Gulping Heidi spoke up. "And who are you, the white rabbit?"

The man smirked, but not in a malicious way, as he slowly walked in circles around Heidi, inspecting her every move. "Only if you're Alice."

Heidi's eyes followed him. "What is this place?"

The man stopped, his hands folding over each other. "Whatever you want it to be."

Heidi frowned, taking a step towards him as she folded her arms over her chest. "What's that supposed to mean?"

The man took a step towards Heidi, towering over her. "You control this world, Heidi. This place is your domain – whatever you wish to happen, will happen."

Heidi glanced at the sign beside both of them. "That's impossible."

"I assure you, it is entirely possible. You see, all this is going on right here," he paused to gently pat the side of Heidi's head, "inside the wonderful brain you have. Anything you want, anything you desire will happen."

She paused for a moment, thinking over his words and nodding subtly to herself. "But there's a catch, there's gotta be a catch, there's always a catch… what's the catch?"

He smiled once more. "No catch here."

She closed her eyes for a moment and silently wished for snow and when she opened them, snow was steadily falling from the dark skies above their heads. Smiling, Heidi reached out her hand to catch the snow and watch it melt in the palm of her hand.

"So I think of something and it happens, correct?" Heidi asked, turning her attention back to the man in front of her.

He nodded. "Yes, that is correct."

Heidi smiled a little, nodding to herself. "How do I get out of here? I mean, clearly this place isn't my home – so how do I get out?"

Any sign of kindness left the man's face within an instant, his demeanour changing from one of comfort to one of almost murderous intentions. "You don't," quickly realising what he had said, he relaxed and tried to smile. "I mean, who would want to, right? You can have anything you want here."

Heidi frowned, shrugging her shoulders. "I guess, but I still would want to go home at some point – I mean, I'm sure the people I care about in the real world would want to see me," Heidi raised her eyebrows a little before walking off past the man.

The man power-walked after her. "Where do you think you're going?"

Heidi didn't turn around to face him as she continued to walk, picking up the pace. "Home. If this is my hometown, my old home will be here somewhere."

Almost on cue, her old street appeared before the pair with her old home being directly in front of them. Heidi had a pack of matches in her hands and looked up at her home one last time before taking out a match and striking it, watching the small flame lick and devour the match.

The man's eyes widened, grabbing Heidi's arms that held the match. "What the hell are you doing?"

Heidi glared at him with a look akin to killing someone as slowly and as painfully as possible and watching the entire thing, slowly shaking her head as she snatched her arm out of his grip. "I have no home."

She threw the match towards the house and watched as it became engulfed in flames within seconds, the other houses in the street engulfing in flames too, with no chance of the flames ever burning out until everything was burned to the ground.

The man grabbed Heidi's shoulders, his eyes fixated on hers. "What the hell are you doing? You shouldn't be doing this."

Heidi's eyebrows raised, her head cocking to one side. "I shouldn't be doing this? Mister, you're forgetting that this is my domain, I can do whatever I please. And besides, I didn't imagine you, I don't even know who you are; why are you here?"

The man sighed. "Yama. You can call me Yama. And I'm here to be your guardian, your… advisor, of sorts."

Heidi frowned a little. "Okay, Yama. If you're my guardian, you should know how we got here and what this place is exactly."

Yama nodded. "You're correct, I do."

"And?"

"I can't tell you."

Heidi threw her arms up in annoyance, rolling her eyes. "Are you actually serious? Why can't you tell me?"

Yama folded his arms over his chest, looking down at her. "Simple – I've been given rules and I have to follow them. Surely, you've had rules you've had to follow."

Heidi stopped at his words, frowning a little. True, she'd had rules she had to follow but surely this is different. Perhaps she did belong in this dreamworld; at least in this world, she didn't have rules to follow and she could control what happens – surely, it would be a dream come true, right?

It's everything she wanted – a life without boundaries and where she didn't have her curse. But something was stopping her, something was telling her that this wasn't right and she couldn't ignore that thought.

* * *

 _ **Note**_

This chapter was re-written so many times, it's almost a joke.

What by Dreamcatcher and Believe by The Bravery really helped with this the writing of this chapter so I recommend you listen to those songs while you're reading this chapter.

And yes, the name Yama does hold significance as Yama is the Hindu god of death, but Yama isn't all he seems, and you'll see soon. Not gonna lie, I pictured Lee Dong-wook as Yama – blame Goblin for that.

Until next time;

Lorna.


	15. Chapter Fourteen

Back in the real world, Embry and Paul had been pacing outside Heidi's room for hours, debating what they should do with Ereshkigal and how they would be able to get Heidi back.

Well, Paul had been doing most of the pacing, Embry had his head stuck in a book to learn as much information as possible about what they were dealing with – but nothing was looking promising.

Closing the book and placing it on his lap, Embry finally spoke up. "We have good news and bad news; the good news is that I've found a way to get Ereshkigal out of Heidi's body. But the bad news is that if we want to save Heidi... we're going to have to kill her."

Paul stopped in his tracks, staring at Embry in disbelief. "What? No! We can't do that!"

Embry placed his hands on Paul's shoulders, trying to remain as calm as possible. "Paul, this thing has attached itself to Heidi's soul like a leech and it won't stop until she has full control over Heidi – her host, or if her host dies. We have very little time; the only thing stopping Ereshkigal from complete possession is a small portion of Heidi's brain – it's fighting it. A full possession should happen instantly, and she should be unstoppable but she's not – something's holding her back."

Paul slowly nodded his head, still in a somewhat state of shock. "She's fighting back."

"Exactly, but we don't know how long she can keep going before Ereshkigal is in full control. I don't care what we do, but we have to do something, and we have to do it now."

Paul thought for a moment. "We have to at least try an exorcism – just something to get that thing out of Heidi."

Embry frowned a little as he considered that idea. "I doubt it'll work – this is a thousand year old goddess who selected Heidi as her host we're talking about, not just some ghost that randomly came into Heidi's body."

Paul nodded his head, almost sadly. "I know, but we should try – we have everything we need here."

Embry sighed, eventually nodding too. "Okay, but I'm warning you now – this has a one in a billion chance of working. So don't be upset or angry when it fails."

Paul took a deep breath before preparing the things needed for an exorcism; a prayer book and a bowl various herbs and spices together to make a powder to cover Ereshkigal with.

Paul and Embry nodded to each other before walking back into Heidi's room, both of them being taken aback by Ereshkigal's appearance.

Honestly, she looked terrible. Despite only being tied up for a few hours and Heidi being almost completely taken over by Ereshkigal, her body looked like it had been starved for weeks. Her bones were sticking out through her pale and frail skin – her face had sunken in and all she had become was flesh and bone.

"What's wrong with her?" Paul asked, almost dropping the bowl.

Embry kept a firm and steady voice as he stood at the end of the bed. "Ereshkigal is starving her to death – if she doesn't get what she wants, she tortures to get it. If Heidi doesn't completely surrender, she'll slowly starve to death."

Paul placed the bowl down on a table to flick through the book to find the correct prayer. After finding it, he began chanting it, getting louder and louder as he continued, throwing the powder around the bed before eventually throwing the remainder of the powder over Ereshkigal.

Ereshkigal went silent for a moment after the powder was thrown over her before she started almost screaming with laughter, pulling on her restraints as she laughed before she fell silent within seconds and glaring at Paul, any signs of laughter leaving her in seconds. "I am older than your God or your Devil; I am thousands of years old, it'll take more than that to kill me or banish me from your precious child."

Embry almost growled as he forcibly placed a bag over Ereshkigal's head and tightened his grip around her throat, not allowing any air to go in. Even through Ereshkigal's struggling and screaming, Embry didn't let up and only got tighter.

Tears pricked his eyes and he tightened his grip. "I'm so sorry… I had no choice."

Eventually, Ereshkigal slowly stopped screaming and struggling, eventually going limp in Embry's arms. After a few minutes, Embry removed the bag from her head and release his hands from her throat and checked her pule.

 _ **Dead.**_

Quickly taking her out of the restraints, Embry grabbed a defibrillator and pressed it onto Heidi's chest, watching her chest rise as the electrical current ran through her chest. After one charge, Embry checked her pule. Still nothing.

He tried a few more times before a weak heartbeat came back, he looked at Paul. "And now we wait."

* * *

 _ **Note**_

First update of 2019! Hope you all had a good new year! All will be revealed soon. Two chapters left of this story, after all.

I'm going to need to delete my internet history after writing this chapter because I think my parents might worry about what I've been doing/what I'm planning on doing if they see it.

You can probably blame Evil Dead for this.

Until next time;

Lorna.


	16. Chapter Fifteen

Heidi walked through the streets of her world, knowing exactly where she was going. She placed a hand on the wall surrounding her world, frowning a little to herself before imagining a sledgehammer and hit the wall repeatedly until a small hole began to form. She threw the hammer to the ground before grabbing pieces of the wall and ripped them apart, making the hole bigger. She couldn't tell what was on the other side; all that was there was a white light and a thick fog – but all she knew was that she needed to get to the other side, no matter what it took.

She knew the world she was in wasn't real; she'd have to be an idiot not to know that. It was fun at first, but she knew she had to get home – no matter what it took.

Ereshkigal materialised beside Heidi, sending a cold shiver down the younger girl's spine. "Heidi, why would you do this?" she asked, almost innocently as her head cocked to one side.

"Because you tried to kill me, you crazy bitch!" Heidi screamed back, turning her attention to Ereshkigal.

Ereshkigal twisted her hand around a little black smoke quickly forming. "I'm sorry, Heidi, but I can't let you do this." She then used her powers to launch Heidi as far away from the wall as possible.

Heidi hit her head on the side of a house as she fell to the floor, lightly pressing her hand to the back of her head as she winced from the pain before shakily standing back up. "You can't have me! I'm not going to let you have me!"

She walked back over towards Ereshkigal, removing her hand from her head and ignoring the small amount of blood there. Once she was a smaller distance away from Ereshkigal, Heidi imagined a large sword, feeling it materialise in her hands and twirling the handle between her fingertips.

Ereshkigal took a step back at Heidi's actions, almost frightened by Heidi but she held it back. "This is pointless, Heidi. You know you can't defeat me."

Heidi smirked, gripping the sword tighter. "You're forgetting one important thing, Ereshkigal; this is my domain. I can imagine whatever I so desire and it happens; my domain, my rules."

Ereshkigal's eyes narrowed, a black smoke circling her hands and snaking around her arms. "If it's a battle you want, child. Then a battle you shall get."

Heidi's eyes hardened, allowing the anger to rise within her and completely take over her. "Do your worst, bitch."

To Heidi's surprise, it wasn't Ereshkigal to make the first move; it was Yama instead. Out of thin air, Yama charged towards her, pickaxe at the ready. Admittedly, Heidi took a few steps back, almost ready to run away. But she knew if she wanted to get to Ereshkigal, she had to get through Yama first.

Swallowing her fear, Heidi raised her sword just as the pickaxe was going to collide with her arm, blocking the force with all the strength she had within her. Yama and Heidi locked eyes as they were both locked in their own power struggle, both of them trying to get the upper hand against the other.

Eventually, it was Heidi who broke first, and Yama's pickaxe pierced her shoulder, causing her to lose her grip on her sword and fall to the ground in pain, crying out in pain. Once she was down, Yama kicked her hard in the stomach, causing her to fly backwards.

Slowly, she got back onto her feet and imagined a katana and charged towards Yama, shouting a battle cry as she slashed her katana, cutting Yama's arms and chest in the process, eventually jumping as high as she could and bringing her sword down – slicing him completely in half, coating both her and her katana in the process. Heidi stood between what was left of Yama's body, coated in blood and glaring at Ereshkigal.

Instead of being intimidated, Ereshkigal couldn't stop the smile on her face as she slowly walked towards Heidi. "You think you and I are so different. But look at you; covered in blood, revelling in destruction and bloodshed. You were born to be the bloodthirsty leader I was in life."

Heidi slowly shook her head, slowly walking towards Ereshkigal. "I am nothing like you. I will _**never**_ be anything like you."

Ereshkigal raised an eyebrow, twisting and curling her fingers around each other. "But you still killed my husband without a second thought."

Heidi winced a little, finally realising what she had just done – killed someone in cold blood and without anyone controlling her. The murder was all her doing. "I will do whatever I have to in order to survive, so I guess in that sense, you and I aren't so different. We both want to survive."

Ereshkigal nodded, reaching Heidi and gently caressed her cheek. "We both know what it takes to survive. You truly are a remarkable woman, Heidi. I'm sure your parents would be so proud of the woman you've become."

Heidi's eyes began to water at Ereshkigal's words. She knew she had to defeat her, but a small part of her didn't want her to go – she'd never had someone be this supportive of her before and she craved it. But she had to keep telling herself that this wasn't the way to get support, no matter how hard her mind was telling her not to do what she had to.

Ereshkigal continued, ignoring Heidi's reaction. "If only it didn't come to this, you could've had anything and everything you wanted – fame, money, love… all of that could've been yours if you hadn't done this. But of course, it's not too late to change your mind. All you have to do is drop your sword and bow to me and all this will be over."

Heidi was almost going to do it before she slowly shook her head before she kicked Ereshkigal in the stomach, causing Ereshkigal to fall to the ground. Heidi brought her katana to Ereshkigal's throat. "I will not bow to you again, I will never bow to you." Heidi hissed as she drove her katana through Ereshkigal's throat and watched the light leave her eyes.

Looking up from Ereshkigal's body, Heidi noticed a large wooden door in front of her. She took one last look at the perfect world she had created and the destruction she had ultimately caused before walking towards the door, opening it and stepping inside.

* * *

 _ **Note**_

This story is coming to an end – I have one last chapter left and then it'll be finally over. I want to thank every one of you for reading this story and leaving comments – it really means a lot to me and I cannot thank you all enough for the love and support this story has received.

Until next time;

Lorna.


	17. Chapter Sixteen

When Heidi's eyes finally opened, tears falling down her cheeks as she slowly rolled over onto her side. She looked at her wrists and ankles, noticing the dark marks in both places. She wasn't entirely sure how they got there but they ached a little as she looked around the empty room. She wasn't sure where Paul was, but she had a feeling he wasn't too far away.

Heidi slowly walked through her empty room, towards the door, walking out of it to see Paul directly in front of her. Feeling as if her heart was about to explode out of her chest, she ran towards him, her hands instantly resting on his forearms before moving up to his face and resting on his cheeks. "It's me, she's gone. She's gone, Paul."

Tears fell from both of their eyes as they tightly embraced one another and held each other for several minutes, refusing to let go, almost afraid that if they did – one of them would disappear and it would be back into the nightmare they had just survived.

After everything they'd been through – one of the first things the pair did was get out of La Push. They stayed in Alaska for a few months to recover and have some much needed alone time and somewhere in those months, they fell in love.

Heidi and Paul went on to have four children, three sons and a daughter; Isaac, Jeremy, Christian and Amelia.

The death curse never returned to Heidi and she was finally able to live her life to how she wanted to, but she did have to live with constant reminders of what Ereshkigal did while in her body, but she did have Paul with her to remind her that she was good, and she was okay.

Heidi tried to make contact with her parents once after the curse had been lifted but she never got a reply, and when her children asked about her parents and if they could ever meet them; their mother would simply say that her parents were somewhere happy and perhaps one day, they'd all be able to be together.

Twenty years down the line, Heidi and Paul had settled down in Anoka, Nebraska. With wide open spaces and fields that went on for miles, it was everything they'd wanted. It gave them the sense of peace they had back in Alaska all those years ago and both felt it was the perfect place to raise their children.

Basking in the sunlight of her backyard, Heidi felt a chill she hadn't felt in twenty years. Without turning around, she spoke up. "It was always going to end like this, wasn't it?"

Behind her was Ereshkigal, completely unharmed by all the things she had been put through while being purged from Heidi's body. Walking slowly to stand beside Heidi, she brushed a piece of hair away from her face. "Yes, child. Nobody ever gets out of this bond alive."

Heidi nodded, her eyes watering as her bottom lip quivered. "Please don't take my children, Ereshkigal. I'm begging you. Whatever happens here, you leave my children." At the mention of her children, a tear finally made its way down Heidi's cheek – if anything happened to them, she could never live with herself.

This was her sacrifice to make, not theirs.

Ereshkigal almost gave her a look of sympathy as she brushed away Heidi's tear with a finger. "Your children will not be harmed, Heidi. That I can promise you." With her other hand, she began to create a darkness around both of them, the smoke-like substance surrounding both of them.

Heidi nodded and closed her eyes, allowing the darkness to engulf her as Ereshkigal smirked. After all this time, she always won.

Once Heidi had been consumed, her five year old daughter came rushing out of the house, looking for her mother. Amelia stopped in a heartbeat when she saw Ereshkigal standing in her backyard.

Ereshkigal quickly noticed the child and gave her a small smile, winking as she placed a finger over her mouth and made a shushing noise before disappearing – never to be seen again by the Lahote family.

When asked where her mother went by her father, all Amelia could say was that she was in another place and she didn't know exactly where her mother went.

Nor did anyone else, it was almost she just vanished into thin air.

Ten years to the day after her mother's disappearance, Amelia awoke to a dark figure at the end of her bed, smiling at her with glowing eyes and she instantly recognised the figure as the same one who had taken her mother all those years ago.

"Are you ready to follow in your mother's footsteps, Amelia? She's been waiting for you since the day you were born."

* * *

 _ **Note**_

And we finally finished O Death – only took me two years and three months but we got there eventually. Sorry this final chapter wasn't as long as I would've liked it to have been but honestly, I just wanted to get it done as quickly as possible.

Sadly, there won't be a sequel to this story – once this story is done, it's done.

Thank you all so much for all the love and support you've given me for this story, it means the world to me.

Hopefully, I'll see you in another story.

Until next time;

Lorna.


End file.
